image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wastrel/184559565/ |
Wednesday’s presentation to HS Faculty, reported yesterday on this blog, seems to have led to a few questions (offline, not in blog comments). The topic - “Efficient use of computer labs” - came about as a result of many teachers reporting difficulties getting into labs in some areas of the school. While the original intent was to seek improvements to the booking system for computer labs (other than the MC labs, where the system is working fine), a potential additional benefit discussed was ways to also improve the quality of lab usage. I raised the issue with some hesitation, as I know well that many of our teachers put great care (and skill) into designing their units and lessons. However, I hoped my intent would be clear: initiating changes to the booking system to improve access to resources for all, and offering support to those who feel unsure how best to maximize the learning impact of lab time.
One subsequent query in particular interested (and surprised) me:
Isn’t there a danger that using the customized Google search engine might provide just a bit too much scaffolding for the students? Should they not instead learn how to search for themselves? Are we depriving them of opportunities to develop important literacy skills by screening their information sources for them?
The question is spot on, but I was a bit surprised that it came up in response to what I’d said. I guess this comes back to the whole issue of discrepancies between intended and received messages… Let me therefore clarify my view on this:
- Students need support or instruction in some form if they are to use the Internet as an information source. To assume they already know how to locate and evaluate information on the web (because “kids these days are so computer-savvy“) is unrealistic and unfair. Since not all our students have specialist ICT classes, all teachers wanting their students to use the Internet for information gathering should assume some responsibility for teaching them how.
- Some teachers provide their students with a list of sites they’ve pre-screened and selected for their students to use. This, to me, is better than just sending them out to Google for stuff, and it saves time and ensures quality results (provided the teacher has selected good sources). It is perhaps also more appropriate for younger students - in evaluating search results, we draw on common sense and experience, which young students simply haven’t had time to develop. Teachers may therefore consider it more appropriate to provide them with some form of scaffolding, such as limiting the information sources they are to use. The customized search engine can further improve this method, as students don’t have to manually click through these pages. Even better, why not teach the students how to make a customized search engine with sites of their own choice? Teach them how to fish, I say…
- Ultimately, however, I think we must help the students develop skill and experience in locating and evaluating information independently, whether through adept Internet searching or using the vast, high-quality resources provided by our library.
